“Prosperous baseball teams could strengthen attachment to regional cities and help local economies thrive,” said the report, which cited the success of U.S. Major League Baseball in nearly doubling from 16 teams to 30 since the 1960s.

In the U.S. we limit our political/baseball interaction to first pitches and underwriting ballparks, so it’s kind of weird to see that sort of a recommendation as a part of actual policy. It’s also weird to be reminded, as this article reminds us, that in Japan baseball team expenses are all written off as advertising for the corporations which sponsor the teams. Sometimes they’re called the “Tokyo Giants,” but they’re really the Yomiuri Giants. All the teams have corporate names like that.

Anyway, this shows you how lame Major League Baseball’s lobbying efforts are compared to those in Japan. C’mon guys, get with the program. I want to see someone in Washington agitating for more baseball teams this time next year.

Abe has been leading the charge to force the Japanese economy out of the doldrums it has been in for 25 years. It’s not surprising he’s looking for more investment (whether private or public) on this front too.